Rawail too agrees that a filmmaker must change with the times. The film, likely to be commercially released in the second half of 2008, deals with the topical issues of migrants (Raj Thackeray, please note!), Hindu-Muslim conflict and gender biases. Chandra is considering showing the Atul Kulkarni starrer at the Osian's film festival. I have used a foreigner to provide a totally different perspective of Mumbai," he says. For his new film, he has roped in American cameraman Matthew Boyd and used a Panavision camera.
"With my latest film Yeh Mera India, I have completely reinvented myself," he says. The question on many lips is why are these masters of box-office unable to deliver nowadays? Is it because their creative juices have dried up? Or that they have been unable to readjust their art and craft with the changing times? Is it because they are unable to put a finger on the pulse of Gen Next? At a time when the divide between the multiplex and the single-theatre audience is bigger than ever before, many are beginning to wonder if they can come up again with a hit? N Chandra, who was also a former assistant to Gulzar, asserts that every creative person has a right to go wrong but also admits that every 10 years, a director needs to revamp himself. And Santoshi's Halla Bol this year failed to raise any outcry, barring from its distributors. Dutta's Umraon Jaan was a serious contender for 2006's flop of the year. Rawail's Buddha Mar Gaya (2007) died a quick death at the box-office. Since the 2003 flop Kagaar, Chandra hasn't had a single release. Ghai's last success came with Taal in 1999.
As a director, none of these Bollywood biggies of the '70s, '80s and '90s ��� Subhash Ghai, Rahul Rawail, JP Dutta, N Chandra and Rajkumar Santoshi ��� have delivered a single superhit in the past five years. To their credit, though, they haven't stopped trying. Now their films often sink without a trace. And the audience eagerly waited for the release of their movies. Producers fawned over them during mahurats. Distributors eagerly snapped up their films even before the first reel was canned.
Subhash Ghai's Black & White failed to deliver at the box officeOnce upon a time, they ruled Bollywood.
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